Test System Specs And Benchmark Suite
Test System Specs
Synthetic and gaming tests are performed on the MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2, Eurocom Panther 5D, and Alienware M18x. The Dragon uses Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 780M mobile GPU, while the M18x employs the previous-generation GTX 680M. The Eurocom Panther 5D uses a desktop processor and has a pair of Geforce GTX 680M video cards running in SLI. All comparison machines use DDR3 or DDR3L-1600 RAM, and their CPUs and GPUs run at factory clock rates. The MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2 runs the GPU with a factory overclock of an additional 75 MHz on the core and 500 MHz for the memory.
| Alienware M18x | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3940XM (Ivy Bridge) Quad-Core @ 3.0 GHz, 55 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel HM77 Express |
| Memory | 8 GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M 2 GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 180 GB Intel 520 Series SSD + 500 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive |
| Eurocom Panther 5D | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme (Ivy Bridge) Six-Core, 3.5 GHz Base Frequency, 150 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel X79 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 32 GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |
| Graphics | 2 x (SLI) Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M, 4 GB GDDR5 |
| Storage | 3 x 256 GB Crucial m4, RAID 5 |
We perform our productivity-oriented benchmarks on systems equipped with the 3rd-gen (Ivy Bridge) Core i7-3740QM and i7-3940XM quad-core chips. The 3740QM resides in a Dell Precision M4700 mobile workstation (with its Quadro K2000M disabled during testing), while the i7-3940XM is in a Dell Precision M6700 Covet Edition. The M6700 does a great job in getting the most performance out of the XM processor without overclocking. The 4930MX processor in the MSI GT70 Dragon Edition 2 runs with a slight overclock that allows the CPU to run at 4.1 GHz in turbo boost mode.
All productivity benchmarks are run on an optimized image of Windows 8 loaded on a 180 GB Intel SSD 520 drive, which we installed ourselves. Compression tests are run on a RAM drive to minimize the impact of storage hardware on each machine.
| Dell Precision M4700 | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3740QM (Ivy Bridge), Quad-Core, 2.7 GHz Base Frequency, 45 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel QM77 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s |
| Dell Precision M6700 Covet Edition | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3940XM (Ivy Bridge) Quad-Core, 3 GHz Base Frequency, 55 W TDP |
| Platform | Intel QM77 Express |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR3 @ 1600 MT/s, Dual-Channel |
| Graphics | Nvidia Quadro K5000M |
Now, let's take a quick look at our currrent notebook test lineup.
Benchmark Suite
| Synthetic | |
|---|---|
| Futuremark 3DMark 11 | Version 1.0.3.0, Benchmark Only |
| Futuremark 3DMark Vantage | Version 1.1.2, Benchmark Only |
| Productivity | |
| File Compression | 7-Zip Version 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to 7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5"WinRAR Version 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3"WinZip Version 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Premiere Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Maxon Cinebench | Version 11.5 Build CB25720DEMOCPU Test, Single- and Multi-Threaded |
| HandBrake CLI | Version 0.98: Video From Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minute 22 SecondsAudio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| iTunes | Version 11.0.2.23: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 52 min, convert .wav to .m4a audio format |
| LAME | Version 11.0.2.26: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert .wav to .mp3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| Gaming | |
| Battlefield 3 | Campaign Mode, "Going Hunting" Mission 90-Second FrapsTest Set 1: Ultra Quality SettingsTest Set 2: High Quality SettingsTest Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Bioshock Infinite | Built-In Benchmark Utility @ 1920x1080Test Set 1: Ultra, DirectX 11, DDOFTest Set 2: Ultra, DirectX 11Test Set 3: Very HighTest Set 4: High |
| Call Of Duty: Black Ops II | Campaign Mode, "Celerium" Mission 2-Minute FrapsTest Set 1: Extra Quality, High Filtering, 8x MSAA, Ambient Occlusion, High Depth of FieldTest Set 2: High Quality, Medium Filtering, 2x MSAA, Ambient Occlusion, Medium Depth of FieldTest Set 3: Normal Texture Quality, Low Texture Filtering, Low Depth of Field |
| Crysis 3 | ???Test Set 1: Very High Details, Very High Textures, Motion Blur Medium, Lens Flare Enabled, 2x SMAA, 16x AFTest Set 2: Highe Detail, High Textures, Motion Blur Low, Lens Flare Enabled, 2x SMAA, 8x AFTest Set 3: Low Detail, Medium Textures, Motion Blur And Lens Flare Disabled, No AA, 4x AF |
| DiRT: Showdown | Built-in BenchmarkTest Set 1: Ultra Quality SettingsTest Set 2: High Quality SettingsTest Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Hitman: Absolution | Built-in BenchmarkTest Set 1: Ultra Quality SettingsTest Set 2: High Quality SettingsTest Set 3: Medium Quality Settings |
| Sniper Elite V2 | Built-in BenchmarkTest Set 1: Ultra Quality PresetTest Set 2: High Quality PresetTest Set 3: Medium Quality PresetTest Set 4: Low Quality Preset |
| Tomb Raider | Built-In Benchmark @ 1920x1080Test Set 1: UltimateTest Set 2: UltraTest Set 3: HighTest Set 4: Normal |
| Total War: Shogun 2 | Built-in BenchmarkTest Set 1: High Graphics @ 1920x1080, FXAATest Set 2: Very High Preset @ 1920x1080Test Set 3: Balanced Graphics @ 1280x720 |
| World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria | Honeydew Village, Between Guards In The Rain, 60-Second FrapsTest Set 1: Ultra PresetTest Set 2: High PresetTest Set 3: Medium Preset |
| Storage | |
| CrystalDiskMark | Version 3.0.2 |
| Display | |
| Datacolor Spyder4 Elite | Brightness, Contrast, White Point, Luminance Uniformity, Color Uniformity, Color Gamut, Color Accuracy, Monitor Rating |
A Note on FPS
We realize that acceptable frame rates are debatable on a per-game and per-vendor basis, which is why we're simply listing averages. As long as we're getting smooth game play, we typically choose higher-quality visuals over higher frame rates. After all, we want to see all of the work that game designers put into making a game visually appealing. Typically, we find that 20 FPS is the absolute minimum we’re willing to call acceptable, with 30 FPS a more ideal minimum. In multi-player games we favor higher frame rates and low lag.
Display Testing Methodology
Display testing and calibration is carried out using Datacolor’s Spyder4 Elite calibration system. The system consists of a full-spectrum, seven-color sensor that plugs into the system’s USB port, and the Spyder4 Elite software to control it. All of the measurements and charts are generated by the Spyder4 Elite software. The only changes are a quick crop to make the images easier to read.
